"There's other things we could do..."

Watch out! Mad Men spoilers for those who are not yet caught up! This means you Mom, Dad, and Jono!

I am certainly not alone in my joy at last night's Peggy-centric episode! After the skimming over she was given in the season premiere, I am so glad that we were given so much of her last night. Her arc was kind of a microcosmic version of what her character has been through for the entire run of the series so far. She started out expressing her opinion confidently and was immediately shut down by the men. She felt left out, unsure why she can't appeal to men like all the other women can, and ends up practicing flirtation in the mirror. Then she headed to a Brooklyn bar to test out her skills.

It was both sad and familiar watching Peggy turn into a completely different person when singing into her hairbrush, Ann Margaret-style. As Roger told her, she doesn't have "that dumb look" on her face like all the cutesy, simple women. But when she needed to, she could turn it on. I loved seeing her in the bar. Marched straight up to the counter, borrowed a line from Joan, and immediately got the boys' attention. It was a little frustrating that she felt she had to pretend to be a secretary to really impress the guy she was with, but she got to have a fun little tryst with him in the end, and responsibly at that.

Moving on to Joan, she is apparently Mrs. Harris now! I am confused, though. I thought she was getting married at Christmastime, and according to Margaret Sterling's wedding invite, it is not yet November. Am I confused or is this a script gaffe? Probably the former. Speaking of Margaret Sterling, it looks like her wedding day is set for November 23, 1963...the day after JFK's assassination! I can't wait to see what they do with that! Roger seems to be getting on everyone's bad side, even Don's. This is going to explode.

Don was hard to read in this episode. Not like he's ever an open book. But his decision to appease Betty by manipulating the situation so that her father would move in with them was strange. Did he just want to do something nice for Betty? Did he want to start caring about his family? I suspect this will not go well, as Betty's sister-in-law would probably have done better at caring for him than she will. Also, I fear for what trouble he may get into as his mental acuity comes and goes.

I've heard that next week's episode (which was accidentally leaked on iTunes) will continue to be Peggy-centric. Perhaps she's finally taking a foreground role? I think the ensemble really works for the show, but I do love my Peggy. When will Joan get a whole episode to herself?

Mad Men airs Sunday nights at 10pm on AMC.